A Fine Line Runs Through Seville
by Hippy Gypsy
Summary: When Tulio and Miguel meet their match in two women on the run, they realize their quest for gold and happiness may never be the same when they propose robbing the King of Spain's royal treasury. Post RtED.
1. Although I Must Leave Her

**A Fine Line Runs Through Seville**

**By Hippy Gypsy (with the assistance of Avena)**

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Road to El Dorado, Tulio, Miguel, Chel, Elton John, Seville, Andalucia, or any part of Spain for that matter, although I wouldn't mind owning any of them. I do however own this plot and the villains, and I own Brian, who is kinda based on a teacher I had this semester. Most especially I own Isabella and Meg. Hopefully I can get some pictures up of what they look like soon, but you'll just have to cross your fingers on that one. The busy life of a college student I lead. But either way, yeah, not making any money off of this, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Anyways, off on the trail…that we blaze…like you haven't heard that one before. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 1: Although I Must Leave Her**

Tulio sat and watched the sea that night. It had always reminded him of her. It had to be her hair, and the way it ebbed and flowed in the wind. But that sea had dried up. The same could not be said for his emotions. He was ready to move.

Chel had died in the early morning a month before, victim to the foreign diseases befallen upon her. They had brought her back with them to Spain. She did not last long. In the end, she had said it was her own doing, but Tulio continually blamed himself. He could do nothing but bury her and recall that for once in he had loved something, no, someone more than gold. He kept her earrings as a momento, and though no one knew it, not even Miguel, Tulio carried it in his vest pocket, day in, day out.

Miguel sat plucking his mandolin on one of the steps behind him, when he finally spoke.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

Miguel's playing didn't stop. "Are you ready to move on then?" he asked carefully.

"Not move on, but…" Tulio chose his words wisely. "Just move." He looked to the sky at the stars, trying to make sense, but not seem weak in front of his partner in crime. "I can't sit still any longer. We've been here for too long. I have to move. You know I'm never in the same place twice too long."

"So when will we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. As soon as possible."

"And where will we go?"

"Andalucia somewhere to start. I don't know. Anywhere."

"What will we do when we get there?"

"I don't know. I don't care." He got up and headed to bed in a huff. Miguel caught him one last time.

"Tulio…what about Chel? Her memory?"

Tulio stopped dead for a moment. Dammit, the man had pushed his buttons. Slowly, Tulio's hand went to his vest pocket, but he stopped himself. He let his hand drop to his side, and with a deep breath, he went inside, leaving Miguel to ponder the obvious about his emotions.

Miguel sighed. His best friend had lost his true love: a woman just as cunning and obsessive with gold as he was. Now, it was killing himself from the inside out. Tulio had never shown defeat before. Panic, yes. Defeat, never. Miguel had not known Chel as well as him, but knowing Tulio's feeling just the same broke his heart. And he knew as much of a friend as he could be, a brother, nothing could be done to repair Tulio's heart.

So he sat for that last night and played for another hour before he himself retired. He merely sat singing to himself that night:

"I know I must leave her, or she'll be the death of me…"


	2. In Andalucia Square

**A Fine Line Runs Through Seville**

**By the Hippy Gypsy (with the assistance of Avena)**

**Chapter 2: In Andalucia Square**

A city in the region of Andalucia became their destination after a few days of travel. The town was alive the afternoon they had arrived. Though small it was still quite bustling. The early summer made the air warm and people flowed on the streets easily. Well, everyone but Tulio and Miguel.

The two stood in the square of a church, holding their map out, upside down, though this was unbeknownst to them.

"This map's broken," Miguel stated.

"How can a map break?" Tulio retorted.

"I don't know, but it did."

There was no getting around it. Tulio merely shook his head and took the map. He tore it into six different pieces, then threw them into the air. "There," he said smugly. "Problem solved. No more map."

"Just as well. Maps always brought odd luck for us anyways."

Tulio nodded.

"So where are we heading?"

"Absolutely no clue." Tulio ran a hand through his jet black hair and pointed off down the main road. "C'mon. Let's at least find an inn before anything. I think there's one in the tavern this way."

The two men set off down the street, but they never made it very far. They found that a large crowd of people had gathered to watch something. They were almost blocking the road completely, and the group became unaware of the others trying to get around them. A good amount of yelling was coming from the center of it all.

"What in the world?" Miguel said under his breath, but Tulio merely shrugged his shoulders.

They moved further into the crowd, only to get a closer look at the action. It turned out to be more than they had bargained for.

_"Well excuse me senorita rojo!"_

The whole of the excitement centered around two woman in a heated argument. A thin brunette with her hair tied back was standing across the way from a tall redhead, with a slight Irish accent. The brunette, who was definitely Spanish, pointed to the redhead and continued with her insult. "I wasn't aware I was the one who was supposed to watch where I was going. I suppose it's only accidental that you were born so clumsy!"

The redhead took the offense and the crowd waited for her retort. Miguel merely tilted his head to the side and mumbled, "She's cute." Tulio was far too interested in the argument to respond.

The redhead stepped forward. "O no!" she jeered. "The clumsiness developed overtime. Save for you who was born with a permanently pissed face!"

The brunette's eyes went wide with insult, and the crowd chuckled. The redhead relaxed triumphant in her attack. But a moment after she had let everything absorb, the brunette stepped up until they were a foot apart. The crowd merely waited with baited breath.

"Well," she said in a deadly whisper. "If you must insist on being such a _zorra_-" Here she gave the redhead a quick slap with the back of her hand, and the crowd sucked in it's breath. "Hasta manana."

The redhead grabbed her cheek, and in the next moment. "Why you-" She stepped back and shoved the brunette as hard as she could.

The brunette, who was of medium build, easily went flying, and she just happened to fall into a large man who looked as if he was rolling in the dinero. Tulio raised an eyebrow as he watched her, and sure enough, he just happened to see the right hand movements.

He gave a sly smile and a deep chuckle.

Miguel looked up. "What is it?"

"She just robbed him. It's a scam."

Miguel raised an eyebrow and looked back to the crowd. "He…she…who?"

"The brunette. When she fell into him, she lifted his purse."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am," Tulio replied. "I invented that move. We have a little thief on our hands."

They turned back to the crowd as the rich man was kindly helping the brunette to her feet, completely unaware of the fact that she had just robbed him. "Oh thank you dear sir," the brunette egged on, his purse somewhere out of site and in her own possession. "Please allow me to finish what I started," she proclaimed. Then all at once, the two girls made a lunge for each other's throats.

"I KILL YOU DEAD!"

"IN THE FACE!"

But before either one of them could get close, people jumped in from every which way and held them back. Finally the redhead allowed herself to be steered in the other direction, yelling back over her shoulder, "Just as well! I don't deal with inbreeds!"

The brunette merely shook her fist over her head and went on in a long string of Spanish swears and insults.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Miguel said with his eyebrows raised.

Tulio merely chuckled under his breath. "Interesting nothing. I'll bet you a hundred pesetas that they're working together."

"You seem so sure."

"I'm positive. Follow the Irish woman. I'll follow senorita hot-head and see what I can come up with."

"Fine," Miguel replied, unsure about how to feel about the idea of following a woman who was already fired up and could certainly hold her own. Besides the fact, Miguel knew never to mess with a mad Irishwoman.

Tulio didn't pay any attention. He was already weaving through the crowd to get after the Spanish brunette and see just what her game was.


	3. Confrontations

**A Fine Line Runs Through Seville**

**By Hippy Gypsy (with assistance from Avena)**

**Chapter 3: Confrontations**

Tulio had followed the brunette through the streets after he had separated from Miguel. The woman had taken to the back streets of the city, something he definitely wouldn't have expected from the way she looked. It wasn't exactly the way she dressed, but something about her demeanor and the way she walked…it was as if she were above all it, as if she should have been royalty, even though she had just robbed a man in the streets.

He erased this from his brain as she had turned the corner. Not wanting to lose sight of her, he crept up behind where she had been and carefully took a look secretly from his spot. His suspicions were instantly confirmed.

The brunette came behind another woman and tapped her on the shoulder. "Sorry I'm late," she said kindly. "Hope I didn't slap you too hard either."

"Nah, barely a scratch. You know me." The second woman turned, revealing the Irish redhead she had fought with in the street minutes before. The redhead smiled. "This one guy who pulled me away kept insisting that he buy me a drink to calm my nerves. I got lucky and was able to escape and double back here."

"Was he cute?" the brunette asked, her thin eyebrow raised mischievously.

"God no, Bella. One reason why I ran so quickly." The two of them had a quick laugh before the redhead nodded to the brunette's waistline, where the lifted purse was sure to be hidden. "Did you look yet?"

"No, I haven't got the chance. That walk around took longer than expected."

The stolen purse was taken out from it's hiding place, then the two women leaned down towards the floor of the alley, dumping the coins carefully onto the ground, then picking through them delicately, not exchanging a single word between them. Tulio's curiosity had hit it's peak. The two woman were disregarding the gold in front of them, as if they had completely missed the point. There had to have been at least fifty pesetas in the pile, and in the end, they sat back on their heels disappointed.

"Meg," the brunette said, her voice deep with worry. "It's not here." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "That must mean it must be…oh no…"

The Irish redhead, Meg, leaned forward and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. The Spanish woman merely looked at the ground, her eyebrows furrowed nervously. "Don't worry Isabella," she replied quietly. "We're going to find it. Don't worry-"

"ENGUARD!"

A shadow had appeared at the end of the alleyway, completely unarmed, but ready for a fight that wasn't even being expected in the first place. The two women stood up in place, not as shocked as Miguel would've expected, but rather disgruntled by the fact that someone had merely interrupted him. Rolling his eyes at the situation, Tulio stepped from around the corner and blocked off the other end of the alley. If anything they wouldn't have a chance to escape.

The brunette raised an eyebrow very high. "Who is the hell are you, and why the hell would you yell 'enguard?' You don't even have a weapon on your person."

Tulio stepped up behind them. "I believe the better question is…Isabella was it?"

The two women whipped around, completely unaware of Tulio's presence, but once again, not regarding what they did as wrong. "What's it to you?" Isabella retorted, a sneer crossing her lips. She placed her hands on her hips and a deadly look came over her face. The other woman merely crossed her arms in curiosity.

"The question certainly is why would you and your friend here stage a fight in the middle of the street, in front of a church no less, to rob a man of a large amount of gold, then disregard it as of no value?" He paused a moment, then added, "What in the heck is wrong with you?" Here he crossed his arms. He was hoping to make an intimidating sight to them, but Isabella seemed unmoved regardless. The redhead, Meg, looked at least slightly startled that Tulio had them figured out so easily. She tried to lie her way out of it.

"We didn't steal anything."

"Again, what's it to you?" Isabella repeated. Tulio had the distinct feeling she was searching him inside out, trying to pinpoint his exact motives. Her eyes looked him over, up and down.

"You swear you didn't just steal that money in front of a house of god?"

Isabella stepped up to him, ready for an even bigger confrontation than the one she had staged previous. One thing Tulio was sure of however was that she would not disregard the idea of hitting him if it was needed. "Look nino, what do you want?"

"Well, an explanation would be nice."

"Or maybe a cut of the money?" Miguel piped in from the other side of the alley. Everyone turned to look at him with raised eyebrows, and he only shrugged his shoulders. "What? Seems like a fair trade for not turning you in."

Meg was already placing the coins back in the purse. "Go ahead and take them. We don't want them anyways." She stood up, turned to Tulio, and tossed the small bag into his hands. "Enjoy."

Tulio caught the bag and stared at it, his mind racing. He had dealt with a number of women in his life…in many different ways. But these two he couldn't pin point anything for sure about them. What in the world was their game? What were they getting at? He shook his head and stepped up in front of Isabella. "Look, senorita, cards on the table. What is your deal?"

Isabella took another step forward then shoved the bag of coins back against his chest. Then she pointed to their end of the alleyway. "No deal and none of your business! Now if you want the money, take the gold and-"

"There they are!"

All four of them whipped around to Miguel's end of the street, to where four large soldiers and the rich man Isabella had stolen the money from stood. Miguel gave a yelp of surprise and ran over to the other end of the alley next to Tulio, but the other three threw up their hands, Tulio throwing the purse of gold back towards the soldiers.

"There's four of them! They're in on it together! They stole my money!"

"We don't want it! Take it back!" Meg begged, nodding towards the purse at the other end of the street.

"Get them!" the man yelled.

As the soldiers ran forward, the four turned and tailed out. "SCRAMBLE!"

**Note from the author: Well, off to a good start so far. It's going slowly, but surely, so I hope you like it. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! Thanks again!**


	4. Introductions and Jail Breaking

A Fine Line Runs Through Seville

By Hippy Gypsy (with assistance from Avena)

Chapter Four: Introductions and Jail Breaking

The chase did not last long at all, and the four of them found themselves being escorted to a temporary dungeon within the hour. Tulio and Miguel went quietly, not knowing the guards' line of humor, but Isabella and Meg, more acquainted with their captors, struggled against their binds. It finally got to the point where when the captain of the guard approached Isabella, one of the men had to grab her by the hair to make her stop. She obliged, then gave a sheepish smile when the captain shook his head in frustration at her.

"Isabella, back again?"

She smiled sweetly, then sarcastically replied, "What can I say? I love the accommodations."

He rolled his eyes and jabbed his thumb to the first cell of the dungeon. "Throw them in there."

They were thrown into a rather large cell that served double as a storage area for equipment. Piles of wood, pulleys and rope strands stood in the corner, above which stood a small ledge and a barred window. Tulio, Miguel, and Meg moved into the cell and looked around, but Isabella stepped in, crossed her arms, then leaned against the wall next to the dungeon door as if it didn't phase her.  
The guard locked the door then stuck his face into the little window where he could see in. "We'll come down to get you when the judge becomes available, and for the love of God you two…" Here he looked directly at Isabella and Meg. "Stay put! And if you don't, make sure I never find you. Got it?"

"Whatever you say," Isabella replied merely looking at the tips of her nails.

"I told ya he likes you," Meg muttered.  
"Shut up," Isabella mumbled back.

The guard's face left the window and Isabella stepped up to watch to make sure all the guards outside had left for the moment. About a minute later she heard another door from outside slam and she turned to Meg and said, "Get to it."

Meg instantly ran towards the ledge near the window muttering to herself, "Ya know, you'd think after the past two times we broke out of here they would quit putting us in this cell."

"Check the window?"

"Si."

Tulio and Miguel watched their movements with curiosity and could not fathom what the two women were up to. Did they actually intend to escape from the Spanish guard?

Isabella turned around and watched them a moment, sizing them up before she looked to Miguel. "Hey blondie, little help?"

Miguel shook himself, then replied, "Uh, sure. Of course." He stepped forward, and with quick effort they lifted Meg up onto the ledge.

Once she sat comfortably at the top in front of the barred window, she looked back over and smiled down at Miguel. "Gracias. By the way, since we didn't get a moment for introduction, I'm Meg. And chica right here is Isabella." At her acknowledgment, Isabella gave a half smiled greeting.

"Oh, um, well, I am Miguel, and that man over there is Tulio," Miguel said, obviously intimidated but trying to remain polite.  
Meg smiled from her perch. "Nice to meet ya."

Isabella crossed her arms and returned to her spot near the door playing lookout. "Ah yes, Tulio," she jeered to herself. "The man who opened his mouth and stuck his nose into business that wasn't even his."

Tulio snapped out of his silence and took a step towards Isabella. "Excuse me, but if I remember correctly, you were the one who actually stole that man's money and did something illegal this afternoon."

"You, senor, should've shoved off when you could've. What good did all that do?"

"I don't usually pick fights with strangers," Meg said balancing on the ledge and examining the bars of the window, "But seriously, you should've gotten out of there when we told you to."

Tulio turned to look up at her, and possibly retort, but instead his concentration broke. "What in the hell are you doing up there anyways?"

"A little concept that's probably foreign to you. They call it 'jail breaking'."

Miguel's eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows. "Jail break? Out of here?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Meg replied matter-of-factly. "We've done it twice before."  
Miguel looked to Isabella. "You have?"

"It's not that hard," she replied.

"Uh ladies," Tulio suddenly interjected. "Those are steel bars. They're not exactly easy to get through."

"Are if you've worked them through once with an exceptionally sharp nail file," Meg replied pulling one of the bars easily from it's place, then tossing it around just for show.

Miguel and Tulio, impressed in spite of themselves, raised their eyebrows in amazement and exchanged a look. Meg turned back to the bars, satisfied at the reaction and continued examining their path of escape. "Hmm…hey Bella, they did replace the center two. We'll have to use that contraption again."

"Go for it," her partner replied from doorway. "It's completely silent out there."

"Gotcha. Okay you two, ready to help?" Meg said looking down at Miguel and Tulio.

"Come again?" Tulio replied carelessly.

"Look macho cabrio," Isabella snapped from her place at the door. "Do you want to get out of here or not?"

Tulio crossed his arms and once again tried to make himself look intimidating. Isabella was not moved in the least by this and instead glared at him, mumbling Spanish swears under her breath.

Isabella won and Tulio turned to Meg and asked, "What do you need?"

Meg smiled and pointed to the pile of rope. "Untangle a good length of that and toss up one end. Then see that really big plank?"

"This one?" Miguel replied pointing to a long two by four.

"No, no," she replied pointing lower. "That really big one under it. Get that over to the ledge. We're gonna use it as a battering ram."

Tulio came back towards the ledge and tossed up a length of rope up to Meg, who instantly began stringing it through a set of pulleys that hung from the stone ceiling of the cave. "Thank you, now if you just get that over here, we'll be in business."

The three of them worked at a fast pace for a few moments, silence falling between them. Isabella stood at the door, watching for guards or anything suspicious, but nothing seemed to show. After about ten minutes, she turned to her partner in crime and asked, "Estimated time of departure?"

"About three minutes," Meg replied making a double knot in one of the lengths of rope. "I just have to-"

SLAM!

Everyone's eyes went wide and their hearts began to pound. Isabella looked out the window, then frantically whispered, "Basta! The captain!"

"What do we do?" Miguel asked worried they had been caught.

Meg expertly somersaulted off the ledge and landed on her feet next to the large wooden beam they were preparing to use as their means of escape. "Let the ropes fall," she said out of the corner of her mouth, "And sit on the beam. Then they won't see."

Isabella stayed put at the door, but the men obeyed Meg. She sat between the two of them and spread her skirt out to cover the log as much as possible. In the dim light of the cell, it was hard to tell what was even happening in the first place. Not a moment later the captain's face appeared in the window of the door.

He raised an eyebrow at them when he peaked in. Meg sat hunched over as if she were waiting sadly for her end to come for the past hour. Isabella once again resumed the role of picking and cleaning her fingernails. The captain tried to find something to say, exchanging a look of curiosity with Isabella, but in the end he merely stated, "The judge will be down in a half hour to speak to you."

"Good to know," Isabella replied.

Simple as that, the captain turned and left the dungeons once again.

Meg was up like a bullet. "Quick! Let's get this up and get out of here!" Miguel instantly lifted her to the top of the ledge and she set right to work on fixing the battering ram.

Tulio had had enough at that point and stepped right up to Isabella, the inevitable fight about to take place. "Look ladies, you're breaking out of prison from the Spanish Guard. I admit that I've gotten caught before, but that was by Captain Cortez on some separate occasion. You want to seriously be on the run from the law, right out of their own cells?"

"Yep," Meg replied ignoring everything else, and not stopping on her work with the ropes.

Isabella however, went wide eyed with wonder and curiosity overtook her. "How in the hell did two saps like you get positions on Cortez's ship? Isn't he the most hot tempered bastard that ever crossed the Atlantic? I highly doubt the two of you could've got posts on his fleet."

Miguel looked up and replied earnestly, "Well, we accidentally stowed away about a year ago."

Isabella cracked a laughed. "Right, and how exactly is it that you're not in Cuba then? Why are you even alive?"

"Well, we hijacked a row boat, then managed to find our way to El Dorado."

Everyone stopped and Tulio did everything he could not to slap himself in the forehead. They had never mentioned El Dorado to anyone in hopes no one thought they were nuts. After all, all they had to prove it were a pair of earrings, which Miguel believed to be buried with the body of Chel. Isabella was completely on the prowl.

"El Dorado eh nino?"

"Yes," Miguel said defensively.

"And I suppose you became filthy stinking rich with the city's gold and met the chief and the mystical priests and all that?"

"Yes, and they even worshipped us as gods."

That was it. Meg and Isabella exchanged a look and not being able to help it, the two of them erupted into mountainous laughter. Tulio glared and Miguel merely blushed and shuffled his feet defeated. Eventually Isabella wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I can't believe it," she said still chuckling. "All this time I thought you two were trying to be brilliant masterminds and outsmart us, and it turns out you're just a couple of gold diggers. I'm losing my touch."

Meg shook her head from her perch and set back to work, tying up a last couple of knots.

Tulio stepped up, pointing his index finger right at Isabella. "Listen to me you little-"

"Look Tulio," she interrupted him. "Forget about it, because in a few minutes it's not going to matter. We're never going to see each other again once we walk through that escape path, and there's nothing you can do to stop that."

"Done!" Meg exclaimed as she hopped down one last time to meet up with the group.

Isabella nodded in note, then turned back to Tulio. "Listen Tulio, Miguel. You two may have a conscience and may want to stay, but I would say that is very stupid because you two didn't even do anything. Meg and I, on the other hand, are going to escape and further our lives outside of Andalucia, away from this village. So you really have two options here. Number one, you can stay behind here, wait for the judge, then inevitably be whipped…ya know if you're into that sort of thing…" Here Isabella and Meg exchanged a look with raised eyebrows. "Or option two, you can follow us out and run for you life. It's completely up to you."

To two woman went towards the makeshift battering ram, and took hold of a couple of the ropes. "As for us, we know our decision."

All at once, Meg and Isabella pulled hard on two of the ropes, and in one smooth mechanical motion, the battering ram swung back a far amount, then with great speed and weight, slammed into the remaining bars of the window, knocking them out and creating a rather convenient path of escape to the streets of Andalucia. Taking hold of another rope, Meg and Isabella tugged, and the battering ram fell, the weight of it pulling at the ropes and lifting the two women gracefully to the ledge above, where they stepped off without a scratch. Tulio had to admit, though he hated it.

They knew what they were doing.

Meg made a beeline through the hole and disappeared from sight. Isabella took her time and strolled, saying to the men below her, "You may want to decide quick. The captain will have heard that."

Tulio and Miguel exchanged a look, then looked back at Isabella. She had stopped right before the hole through the steel bars. She merely smirked then said lowly, "Adios…dos huevos." With that, the two woman had disappeared.

Note from the Author: Hey all, thanks for reading this far and there will be more to come soon. Special thanks to Avena as always for helping me to write this and get all of my ideas sorted out. I think this is my favorite chapter so far, but like I said, more to come. Peace out and please review!


	5. Sixteenth Century Woman

A Fine Line Runs Through Seville

By Hippy Gypsy (with assistance from Avena)

Chapter 5: Sixteenth Century Woman

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Road to El Dorado, nor do I own Elton John or his lyrics to "Sixteenth Century Man". I did however, switch a couple of the words to make this song fit into the story. Bear with me. When I first started coming up with this fic, I knew it had to be something Isabella and Meg could mock our favorite con men with. Anyways, not making gold off this, so by all means, enjoy!

PS The lyrics Isabella and Meg sing are in italics. I strongly suggest listening to Sixteenth Century Man during this, and I also suggest reading the previous chapter while listening to The Brig off the Road to El Dorado soundtrack. Peace out!

Isabella and Meg did not wait around to see if the two con men Tulio and Miguel followed them. Once they were through the broken bars of the jail cell, they hot footed out of there, stopped at the inn where they were staying, grabbed what little possessions they had, and split from Andalucia all together.

They traveled through the night, ignoring the hunger and exhaustion, and amazingly by the morning had managed to make it to the next town over. Silence had overtaken them over the time, the intensity of the situation and the need to get away being their number one priority. But by the time they had made it into the city, Meg stopped a moment, adjusted her bag along her shoulder, and turned around, looking in the direction of the rising sun. She began to let her wind wander.  
"Hmph."

Isabella stopped and turned around, bringing her hand up to wipe the impending sleep out of her eyes. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Meg said turning to her slightly. "I'm just wondering if they got out or if they stayed behind." She caught up with Isabella and they continued on. "Or if they did get out, but got caught again."

Isabella shrugged her shoulders. "It was their choice to leave or not. No skin off our backs. We gave them the chance." After a moment, she began to smirk. In the next minute, she began to downright laugh out loud.

"What is it?" Meg asked raising an eyebrow with tired curiosity.

Isabella grinned evilly and replied, "Those two _huevos _and that damn story of theirs."

"Huevos? The bad eggs?"

"Si. And to find El Dorado, and then claim they were treated as gods? Oh yeah."

Meg snorted and with a smile, her energy suddenly began to perk up. "Uh huh. Where's the proof? Oh lord, and could just think of those two trying to come up with this story on a whim. Probably drunk in some pub and just tale tailing all night." She hopped up on a large boulder they happened to be passing, then mockingly made her voice go deep. "Just think! Miguel and Tulio!" she exclaimed.  
Isabella joined her. "Tulio and Miguel!" she shouted, making her voice sound equilateral to Tulio's.  
"Mighty and powerful GODS!" they voiced together, and the two instantly broke down into undeniable laughs. Energy and adrenaline once again returned to their bodies.

They stood up and continued down the road, just coming inside the village, but Meg had reached the point of giggles. As she trailed Isabella, she mockingly mumbled under her breath, "Oh look at me, look at me! I'm a god!"

Isabella snorted.

She turned to Meg and began to rant. "You see? That's one thing I don't get about the con artists of today. It's not even like it's all men."

"What do you mean Bella?"

"Gold! Everybody's after it anymore. But the difference between us and them is while everybody's clamoring for the New World, they're forgetting what's being left behind here. People have forgotten the plain ol' Spanish currency, making it up for grabs to the first people who want to take it."  
"Meaning us?" Meg said with a smile.  
"Exactly. Why sail the great oceans when the money in the bank is right here on shore?"

Meg adjusted her bag's strap once more. "And besides the fact we get sea sick."

"Precisely," she finished. "That's why we stay in Spain."

"Well, one reason."

"True, but…"

Isabella

Oh it's great to see my homeland  
and breathe the Iberian atmosphere  
Just because I am Hispanic  
Doesn't mean I'm oceanic  
Quite frankly I've had water up to here

"Wait, you're afraid of water?" Meg asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nearly drowned when I was six," Isabella replied hopping down off of her perch.

"Ew…"

Both

We've made waves to last a lifetime  
We've been saturated, almost drowned

Isabella

I am Spanish, not Caribbean

Meg

I'm human, not amphibian

Both

We'll seek our fortunes on Spain's solid ground

The two of them continued through the town, conversing about their theories of El Dorado and, one of their favorite subjects, gold.

Both_  
There's no future in the new world  
Only fools believe the tales  
Of the gold of El Dorado_

Isabella

And those suckers

Both

Set their sails  
_But we've seen the way the tide is turning_

Isabella

Cortez is a charlatan!

Meg

We are in the ball, discerning

Both

We're anit-diluvian  
But two very fine examples of

Sixteenth century man  
They're two very modern samples of  
Sixteenth, sixteenth century man

"Do you really think those two guys thought people would believe that cracker barrel story about the City of Gold?" Meg said turning back, as if she were hoping Tulio and Miguel were right over her shoulder so they could hear her.

"The better question is do the people who hear it and get a good laugh out of it actually care? Or if they did go sailing for El Dorado, don't they know what they're missing here?" Isabella corrected.

Meg laughed. "Touché."

Isabella

We are women who are lining  
Every avenue in every port

Meg

So instead we get to grips with  
Things they never equip ships with  
We have sailed into our last resort

Both

There's no gold out in the new world  
It's a trick to get recruits  
Forget boats to El Dorado  
We've returned to our roots

Meg

Don't they know we're land like ladies?

Isabella

Cortez never let us board

Both

All in all the point we've made is  
We don't want to go abroad  
Two very fine examples of  
Sixteenth century man  
They're two terra firma samples of  
Sixteenth, sixteenth century man

Two very fine examples of

Two terra firma samples of

Sixteenth century man!

"So we agree? Spain for good?" Meg said.  
"Spain for ever," Isabella replied. "With gold."

"Definitely with gold."

"So should we stop and rest or keep going? If we keep this pace up we should make Seville by tonight."

Meg thought a moment and nodded. And the two women went straight through and out of the town.

Both

O, sixteenth century man!

Little did they know that as they exited the one side of the town, the two con men in their question were entering it and heading in the same direction.


End file.
